Friday, January 22, 2016

Signs of Spring in January!

Spring has always been my favorite season.  Watching plants slowly emerge from the cold ground and seeing the first blooms is one of life's joys for me.  Today it's 55 degrees - still cloudy and rainy, but definitely warming up!
Fruit trees at Costco and the Co-op are one of the signs - and who am I to resist.  Plus I had a nice half hour discussion with a fellow gardener about pruning and pollinating fruit trees.
I can always find a place for another fruit tree.  Ron helped me take out a totally useless plum tree in the fall, so a three type cherry takes its place now.
I worried a couple of weeks ago that I hadn't planted tulips and daffodils deep enough as they were already popping up.  So I covered them with about a foot of mulch.....and here they are again!
Aha!  Buds on the raspberry bushes!
What is this plant?  It was a gift from my daughter and son-in-law and it is definitely a keeper!  It started blooming in November, got frozen when we had a week of very cold weather, but has started to bloom again!  

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

More Winter Pictures

We woke up to big snowflakes turning everything white one day, after a week of very cold temperatures where it barely got above freezing during the day.  The snow quickly turned to rain.  Since the weather was changing, we thought we should quick get a picture of the ice on the lake before it was all gone. 
The ice covered about half of the lake - leaving room for all the water birds to swim.
Two days later, the ice is mostly clear and the sun actually has some warmth - enough to make the remaining ice steam.
This cormorant was enjoying the sunshine with us.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Winter in Washington

We're discovering the beauty of winter once again.  After many years of commuting on icy roads, we found a winter retreat in the south, where we have spent the last 15 winters.  Then my folks who had a home next to us in Georgia decided the trip was too hard and they sold their house.  So we decided it was a time for a change for us as well, and we have our southern home on the market and are spending this winter at our home in Washington State.  

Since we no longer have to even take the car out of the garage if the roads are icy, it has allowed us to enjoy the sites and experiences of winter.  Of course, that's easy to say when we're in an area that gets snow for a day or two at a time and not as a constant for months.

For instance - flowers still blooming on the last day of the year:
This beautiful plant was a gift from my daughter, Amy, several years ago and I have enjoyed the lovely leaf colors but have never seen it bloom.
A walk along the lake we live on let us view the swans who stop by for a visit in the winter.
After several days when it barely got above freezing during the day, the ice is creeping out from the edges.  With several more days of cold weather in the forecast, this may be the year the lake freezes over completely.
White Horse(?) Big Four (?) Three Fingers(?)  Not sure which one this is that we viewed from the parking lot at Costco.  All of the mountains are stunning with their fresh coat of new snow. You can see the snow level getting closer.
Even the fast flowing waterfalls at the Tulalip Casino are freezing.  
Ever season has its beauty - we had forgotten the beautiful sites of winter, so it's wonderful to be experiencing them again.